Saturday, January 19, 2013

I Should Have Guessed It

One of the things most frustrating about researching Leona Bean Grant is the source of her married name. Well, yes, I realize one gets one’s
married name from one’s husband.

What I mean to say
is that I’ve never come upon any information about just who Leona’s husband might have been. Other than the obvious—yes,
his last name was Grant—I have come up empty-handed from any plunges into
data-rich online environments.

Until, of course, I encountered one slip of a photo in the
trash-collection-turned-treasure-box that contained all those unmarked Bean
family photos.

I nearly missed the photograph. The face was one I didn’t
recognize, and I must have passed it over in the several other times I’ve been
through this box. But this time, I didn’t miss the note on the back, despite
the faded ink.

The photo was marked:

Bob Grant, 1914.

The photo itself was cut up at odd angles, as if to fit in
some sort of ancient scrap book.

I’m not even sure I’d want to find out what
the story behind this photo might have been—or what the man was holding in his
left hand. Knowing Leona’s strong personality, though, whoever she chose as
husband would have had to be either bland as vanilla, or a real character in
his own right.

Even though I was now armed with the man’s actual name, I
haven’t made any further progress in discovering more about his identity than I
had in searching for “First Name Unknown” Grant. None of the “Bob”—or even “Robert”—entries
in all the usual databases seem to be a viable match.

It doesn’t help that “Grant” happens to be a fairly common
surname. This quest has certainly tried my patience. Sometimes I’m inclined to
give up the search because, after all, Leona never had any children of her own.
There’s not really anyone left who might care about this line.

One day, however—and you knew this would have to happen—I stumbled
upon a hint. I’m not sure I even remember where I saw this note. It was
something I found while catching a spare moment’s look online. One of those
snatched moments that vaporizes when a more pressing matter (read crisis) pops
up.

The hint was: try “Bob” as a middle name.

Of course! Hadn’t my own family been rife with those middle
name issues? I should have thought of that.

But what to do with “Bob”? Was it short for Robert? Or
assumed as a nickname to substitute for another, less popular name.

I played around with what I could find online. It didn’t
take long to do what the online social media crowd now calls “head desk.” Yep,
*slams palm to forehead*—why did I
not think of this?

Ulysses - I wouldn't be surprised. My family seemed to like naming children after presidents. I have a couple James Madisons, Thomas Jeffersons, and a set of twins named Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

He looks like Clark Gable! Just a thought on that picture : maybe he invented it and he got a patent on it listed in the Patent Office ? There should be a searchable database of patent products and the creator. Maybe that is why they took a picture of it ? Another thought is he might be a manufacturer or in sales.

He looks like Clark Gable! Just a thought on that picture : maybe he invented it and he got a patent on it listed in the Patent Office ? There should be a searchable database of patent products and the creator. Maybe that is why they took a picture of it ? Another thought is he might be a manufacturer or in sales.

Now that I've found an address on the reverse of one of these photos, I'm planning on seeing if Bob shows up in a city directory, since he hasn't showed up in the census records yet. That may tell the missing piece of this story.

That bemused look on his face and his jaunty posture suggest that he was a character in his own right - probably the kind of person you'd have to be when posing with a toilet seat. It's interesting that he appears to be in an office of some sort, too - an incongruous place for the toilet seat, but there may be clues in that, too.

Yes, Bob--or Ulysses, if that's what his name turns out to be--does seem quite the character. I'm looking forward to learning more about him. I'm sure there are some whoppers in the stories about this one.

Best wishes as you continue your own blogging project. And thanks for stopping by here!

I agree with Kathryn that it looks more like a bedpan. Would be uncomfortable as a toilet seat (1) Maybe Bob was a maker or seller of medical devices for hospitals or nursing homes. (It's a strangely high desk to be and office desk, too.) He looks proud of his product, all right. If you're doing that patent search, I'd include bedpans.

Is this the man that we saw in later photos with a little nephew and a car? I'll pop over to your newer posts and check it out. What a "find" this photo was. You've persuaded me to bring out my old photos again...

About Me

It is my contention that, after a lifetime, one of the greatest needs people have is to be remembered. They want to know: have I made a difference?
I write because I can't keep for myself the gifts others have entrusted to me. Through what I've already been given--though not forgetting those to whom I must pass this along--from family I receive my heritage; through family I leave a legacy. With family I weave a tapestry. These are my strands.